While Xia Xiaolan was beautiful, Guan Huie possessed an air of nobility.

Wei Juanhong felt nervous talking to either of them.

“Please go ahead…”

Xia Xiaolan’s heart leaped – was Guan Huie going to tell Wei Juanhong the truth about Shi Kai’s death?

She nudged Zhou Cheng, “You should listen too. What Auntie has to say isn’t a small matter.”

It wasn’t right to put all the pressure on Guan Huie. Xia Xiaolan thought it would be more sincere if Zhou Cheng spoke for himself. She supported Zhou Cheng being good to the Shi family – it was the right thing to do. The tragedy had already happened, and the living still had to face life. It would be best if the Shi family could accept the truth; otherwise, Zhou Cheng would surely feel even more guilty.

Xia Xiaolan sighed. She was selfish too, naturally considering things from Zhou Cheng’s perspective.

Zhou Cheng followed them, leaving only Xia Xiaolan and Shi Ping in the hallway.

Shi Ping became nervous when away from his family. Xia Xiaolan patted the chair in the hallway:

“Sit here, shall we talk for a bit?”

Xia Xiaolan radiated kindness. In his childhood, Shi Ping was often bullied in the village, with people carelessly calling him an idiot.

Back then, Stone Auntie’s eyes hadn’t deteriorated yet. After Shi Kai left for military service, Shi Ping was only around ten years old. Some mischievous children not only mocked him as an idiot but also threw stones and mud at him. When bullied, Shi Ping would only laugh foolishly. Though intellectually challenged, he wasn’t the kind of violent madman who would hurt others.

He could still sense kindness.

When Xia Xiaolan spoke to him gently and slowly, Shi Ping wasn’t afraid anymore.

When Xia Xiaolan asked him to sit, he planted himself on the farthest stool.

“Why are you sitting so far away?”

Shi Ping wiped his nose, “I’m dirty, I smell.”

Others always said the fool was dirty and kept their distance. Over time, Shi Ping learned to maintain distance from others on his own.

But he wasn’t smelly at all – he’d bathed at the guesthouse, and Zhou Cheng had bought new clothes for the Shi family.

Rural people had their dignity too. Wei Juanhong, fearing city folk would despise Shi Ping, always supervised his bathing and changing clothes. Apart from occasional runny noses, Shi Ping wasn’t dirty.

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “You don’t smell. Could you sit closer? Otherwise, you won’t hear what I’m saying.”

Xia Xiaolan pointed to the chair beside her. Shi Ping thought for a moment, then moved over.

“…Hello, you don’t scold me.”

His reactions were slow, his speech and movements sluggish.

But his thinking was fairly close to normal – Xia Xiaolan was assessing Shi Ping’s intellectual capacity.

He might not be able to handle technical work, but with patient teaching, Shi Ping should be able to care for himself.

“Do people in the village scold you?”

Shi Ping first nodded then shook his head, “They used to.”

So they scolded him less now?

It must have been after Shi Kai’s promotion that people’s attitudes toward the Shi family changed.

This resonated deeply with Xia Xiaolan. Rural areas weren’t entirely simple and pure. Both rural and urban people had their good and bad sides – some people, despite their poor circumstances, would still bully families even more impoverished than themselves.

Shi Kai’s promotion and Xia Xiaolan’s university admission had the same effect – both were ways to rise above their circumstances.

When one becomes stronger, others’ attitudes naturally change. Such was human nature, and Xia Xiaolan wasn’t surprised.

But now, the Shi family’s pillar was gone. Although Shi Kai had been honored as a martyr with various preferential policies, the family needed to know how to use these benefits. Forget about Stone Auntie and Wei Juanhong – just consider Shi Ping’s intellectual disability. If others bullied or deceived him behind closed doors, he couldn’t even explain what happened when he got home!

The Shi family truly needed a change of environment.

If they wouldn’t move to the capital, they should at least leave the village.

Xia Xiaolan pondered that helping the Shi family wasn’t a one-time deal – it would take considerable time and effort.

She continued chatting with Shi Ping for a while. He wasn’t as foolish as imagined. Learning was out of the question – Shi Ping was already a grown man. But Xia Xiaolan was confident she could help him master basic life skills.

While she was forming her thoughts, on the other side, Zhou Cheng and his mother had finished talking with Wei Juanhong.

Zhou Cheng and Guan Huie walked in front, with Wei Juanhong following behind, her red eyes clearly showing she’d been crying!

Tears could be wiped away, but emotions weren’t so easily settled. Though she could talk naturally with Xia Xiaolan before, now she avoided eye contact, seemingly refusing to communicate with anyone.

Putting herself in Wei Juanhong’s position, Xia Xiaolan could understand – how could there be no resentment at all? No matter how good Zhou Cheng was to the Shi family, he wasn’t Shi Kai. Wei Juanhong had lost her husband, her lifelong support. If something happened to Zhou Cheng instead, no amount of material help from others would make Xia Xiaolan accept it.

Wei Juanhong had no choice but to accept it. Stone Auntie’s eye surgery was arranged by Zhou Cheng, and with the operation just completed, could she yell at Zhou Cheng and say she didn’t need his kind help?

Shi Kai wasn’t killed by Zhou Cheng.

Shi Kai saving Zhou Cheng was his own choice; no one forced him.

Wei Juanhong understood this, but how could her heart be completely free of resentment?

Rather than saying she resented Zhou Cheng, it was more that she resented Shi Kai… when he pushed Zhou Cheng away, why didn’t he think about her and the children? If not for his wife and children, he should have thought about his blind mother and intellectually challenged brother!

“Sister-in-law Wei…”

Even the eloquent Xia Xiaolan didn’t know what to say.

Wei Juanhong had always had a good impression of Xia Xiaolan, even bringing milk powder for her son, but after learning the truth, she couldn’t face Xia Xiaolan either.

She was jealous of Xia Xiaolan!

Not of her beauty or glamour, but because Zhou Cheng was still alive – of course Xia Xiaolan could be gentle and kind.

“Shi Ping, come inside with your sister-in-law.”

Wei Juanhong didn’t speak to Xia Xiaolan, instead calling Shi Ping from his chair, and they both entered the ward.

Shi Ping, confused, didn’t know what had happened, but he knew to listen to his sister-in-law. He quietly told Wei Juanhong, “Good person.”

Saying Xia Xiaolan was a good person.

Wei Juanhong’s tears fell again, “You fool, it’s all deception.”

Shi Ping shook his head and mumbled, “Not deceiving, not deceiving!”

Fool or not, he was sensitive to others’ attitudes. Xia Xiaolan truly hadn’t looked down on him, and Shi Ping instinctively defended her.

Though the voice was soft, at such close range, it was impossible not to hear.

Xia Xiaolan knew things were going badly – resentment had indeed taken root.

She just didn’t know if this resentment was temporary or would last a lifetime.

Zhou Cheng remained silent, breaking Xia Xiaolan’s heart.

“Zhou Cheng, I feel it’s stuffy in here. Could you walk with me outside? Stone Auntie isn’t awake yet; we’ll be back soon.”

Guan Huie felt for her son too.

This wasn’t Zhou Cheng’s fault; one could only blame heaven for not making everything perfect.

“Go ahead. Stone Auntie’s had her surgery, and you’ll be back at the academy soon. While you have time now, spend it with Xiaolan. It’s not easy for her to date you, rarely getting to see each other.”

This pressure Zhou Cheng felt – he might not confide in his parents, but perhaps he could talk to his girlfriend.

Guan Huie truly felt sorry for Xia Xiaolan. Seeing Wei Juanhong’s example, she feared Xia Xiaolan would live in constant worry from now on!